The Promise of a Lifetime
by SimplySadistic
Summary: Sora continues to have nightmares about Riku turning to the darkside. Will Riku be able to help his friend? Can be looked at as a yaoi, but can also be looked at as just friendship. Rated K because there's nothing even remotely suggestive in here. Might change the rating, depending on if people want me to write more. Takes place immediately after Kingdom Hearts 2. Enjoy!
1. Darkness Subdued

_**This story takes place immediately after the events of Kingdom Hearts II. It was just a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. Not sure if this will be the only chapter or if I should continue with it. Either way, it'll be nice. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy.**_

Sora opened his eyes, the sun blinding him momentarily. He was lying on the beach of Destiny Islands. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, sand slipping between his fingers. He scanned the area with his sapphire blue eyes; His brunette hair waved in rhythm with the wind, performing an exotic dance. The waves washed up onto the beach and then retreated back into the ocean, almost as if contemplating whether or not it wanted to travel further up the beach and then deciding against it at the last moment.

Sora's eyes averted to the center of the water. A man was standing there. No- Not a man. A boy. A boy with shoulder length silver hair was standing in the water, his back turned to Sora. He was wearing an all black skin tight outfit that looked almost as if it was made out of muscle tissue. Around his waist was a white cloth that faded into dark purple. The bottom of the cloth was ripped all around.

The boy turned around, revealing a heartless emblem on the chest of the suit. His eyes were a bright turquoise color. His face showed no emotion as he reached out a hand, beckoning Sora to come to him. A black portal opened up behind the silver haired boy, showing that he was going to leave.

"Riku?" Sora stood up, running into the water after Riku, "Riku!" Sora continued running, pushing against the waves with all the strength he had. He needed to stop Riku. No matter how fast or hard he ran, Riku only seemed to be getting farther away.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, reaching his hand out towards the silver haired male.

"Sora!" It was Riku's voice, but it seemed like it came from right next to him.

"Riku!" Sora yelled again, fighting against the waves that continued to crash into him.

"Sora!"

_A scattered memory that's like a far-off dream…_

_ A far-off dream that's like a scattered memory…_

"Sora!" Riku yelled, shaking the brunette vigorously, "Wake up!"

Sora jolted up in his bed, his bangs matted to his forehead from sweating. He looked around, his heart pounding in his chest. He was in his room. His eyes caught Riku, who was sitting on the edge of Sora's bed looking as worried as ever. That's right. He was home now. And he didn't have to worry about losing Riku anymore.

"You alright, Sora?" Riku asked, generally worried about the brunette.

"Y- Yeah…" Sora shook his head, still trying to calm himself down, "It was just a bad dream…"

Riku grimaced. He stood up from the bed, heading towards the door, "As long as you're alright."

"Riku…" Sora said, looking out of his window to the main island where he, Riku and Kairi usually hung out at.

Riku turned around, looking at Sora, "What is it?"

Sora remained silent for a couple seconds, thinking about his dream. "Promise me," He began, "That you'll never leave me again."

Riku sighed, walking back over to the bed. He kneeled down onto the mattress and placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, causing the brunette to look into Riku's eyes.

"Sora," Riku said, "You don't have to worry about that anymo-"

"I want to hear you say it," Sora said, interrupting Riku, "Otherwise your words mean nothing. Promise me, Riku." Sora could feel the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. The pain of losing his best friend to the darkness was almost too much for him to handle and the constant nightmares about it didn't help him either.

Riku stayed silent for the longest time, taking a seat on Sora's bed. After a while, he finally gave in. "I promise you, Sora, I will never leave you again."

Sora felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Promises may not have meant anything to everybody else, but Sora knew that when Riku made a promise, he kept it.

"Thanks, Riku," Sora's gaze averted to the ground, thinking, "Hey, Riku?" Sora looked up at the silver haired boy.

"Yes, Sora?" Riku's turquoise eyes met Sora's blue eyes.

"Uhm," Sora began, "Would you mind staying with me for the night? You know… So I don't have any more nightmares?" He could feel his face heating up.

"Sure," Riku said, much to Sora's surprise. Sora was even more surprised when Riku started to lie down on Sora's bed.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked, curious as to why Riku was lying down on Sora's bed.

"I'm staying with you," Riku said, wrapping an arm around Sora's waist and pulling the brunette back down into a laying position. Sora's back was to Riku's chest, the two now spooning. Sora moved Riku's arm to his chest, resting the palm of Riku's hand over his heart- Right where it belonged. Sora was thankful that Riku didn't move his hand.

"Hey, Riku," Sora said.

"Yeah?" Riku asked.

"How'd you get into my room?" Sora asked. Riku started laughing, which in turn caused Sora to laugh. The duo laughed themselves to sleep. Riku's hand remained over Sora's heart for the duration of the night…

_**Anyways, there it is! Let me know in the reviews if you think I should continue with the story line, even though there really is no plot yet. I could always make one if you guys would like! :D Sorry it's short, but it wasn't intended to be a chapter story or anything. :P**_


	2. Promises Were Meant To Be Broken

_**I decided to continue on with the story. Tell me what you think. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!**_

Riku lay on the bed, his chest pressed against Sora's back; His hand resting over Sora's heart. The Keyblade wielder was still asleep, letting out light snores every now and then. Riku smiled. He was glad that he was able to help Sora sleep peacefully. He slowly pulled his hand away from Sora's body, smiling when the brunette stayed asleep. Riku got up from the bed and walked towards the door, opening the door as quietly as he could. He stepped into the hallway and closed the door.

_'You're too soft…'_

Riku shook his head, trying to rid the voice in his head; the voice of Ansem. Riku wasn't exactly sure when it happened. Or how, for that matter. He figured it happened after his final battle with Ansem in Castle Oblivion. Somehow, the Seeker of Darkness was able to live inside Riku's mind. Riku wouldn't doubt it since he had forced himself to live in darkness. Or maybe, Riku was just going crazy…

"Shut up," Riku said, walking down the hallway.

_'This life isn't for you, Riku,' the voice started, 'You were flourishing in the darkness. It's where you belong.'_

"I have friends here," Riku said out loud, opening Sora's front door and leaving.

_'Your friends are just burdens holding you back from your true potential,' the voice said._

"And what would that be?" Riku asked, walking along the beach, kicking at the sand, "There's nothing more for me to do."

_'You could be the harbinger of darkness to the worlds,' the voice replied._

"We already tried that once," Riku said, slightly amused that Ansem was still trying to conquer the world with darkness.

_'But you're different now,' the voice explained, 'Your heart is stronger than it was before. Your tie with darkness is stronger.'_

"Yeah, well, Sora's stronger too," Riku said, shocked that that was his reply. He should've just blocked out the voice at the very mention of darkness.

_'The boy's still as weak as ever,' the voice said, 'You know you miss the darkness. You had power when you accepted the darkness.'_

"He was able to beat you," He sighed and took a seat in the sand. He watched the water, the waves reminding him of his own inner turmoil. Back and forth. One moment he was promising Sora that he would never leave again and then the next second he was contemplating on whether or not he should listen to the voice inside his head.

"What would the point be?" Riku asked, actually wondering what Ansem's was thinking about doing.

_'Power of course,' the voice said 'And then, once you have the power, you can bring peace to the worlds.' Of course, the voice was just saying that to try and convince Riku to do it._

"I can do that alongside Sora and Kairi," Riku said, laying back in the sand and looking up into the sky.

_'It'll never end,' the voice said, 'You know that as well as I do. As long as light tries to prevail over darkness, the fighting will never end. Because no matter how much light there is, there will always be a shadow. But darkness can engulf the light. Consume it. Render it non-existent… And that's when the fighting truly ends. You see… Darkness is the hearts true essence.'_

"You've said that before," Riku scoffed, "And I'm not falling for it again."

_'You know I'm right, Riku…'_

"Yeah…" Riku said, "I know…"

-.-

Sora yawned, his eyes still closed. He rolled over in his bed, yawning again. Wait a second… He had just rolled over… Where was Riku? He jolted up, looking around the room. "R- Riku?" Sora swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, looking around again. But, Riku was nowhere in sight. Sora sighed, wondering why Riku had just left without saying goodbye. He probably just went home. After all, Riku's parents didn't know that Riku was at Sora's house. He probably didn't want them to worry. Sora smiled, thinking about Riku having to sneak into his own house so he wouldn't be noticed by his parents.

"Sora!" It was Sora's mom's voice. "I'm gonna need your help today so hurry up!"

Sora sighed, rolling his eyes. He threw on a t-shirt and some shorts and then left his room. After saving everybody in the universe and preventing total annihilation, he still had to listen to his mom.

-.-

Sora re-entered his room, tired from the long day of helping his mom with various odd jobs around the house that mostly consisted of him lifting heavy stuff for her and lugging it around the house.

He wiped some sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, taking off his t-shirt and tossing it into a pile of already dirty clothes on his floor. He really needed to learn how to do laundry. He looked out of his window towards the main island, still disappointed that he hadn't seen Riku all day.

The sky was turning black. That was odd. Sora saw lightning in the clouds. It was just like the first time the Heartless came to the island. Sora wasn't going to let that happen again. He quickly threw on a different shirt and then snuck out of his window. He ran to the end of his dock and got in his boat, rowing as quickly as he could to the main island.

-.-

Riku stood on the beach, looking up at the sky. He was in Dark Mode again, wearing the skin tight black suit that seemed to be made of muscle tissue. He had given himself into the darkness before and he had no problem doing it again. "Why is it doing that?" Riku was questioning the color of the sky.

_'Thus is the power of darkness,' the voice said._

Dark circles formed around Riku's feet and Heartless popped up. Riku held out his hand, Way to the Dawn appearing out of thin air. He was ready to fight the Heartless. "I want to bring peace! I don't want to destroy the island like last time!"

_'Relax, Riku,' the voice said, 'They listen to you now.'_

Riku's turquoise eyes scanned over the Heartless. He relaxed, his Keyblade disappearing once he realized they were not hostile.

"Riku!" Sora was running up the beach, Keyblade in hand. He jumped up and slammed his Keyblade down on one of the Heartless, the shadowy figure disappearing on first touch. The rest of the Heartless began to go after Sora.

"Stop!" Riku's voice was commanding. The Heartless disappeared, Riku now standing alone. He was looking at the sand, too ashamed to look at Sora.

"Riku!" Sora's Keyblade disappeared. He stepped forward, looking at Riku's outfit, fearing the worst, "W- What are you doing?"

"I'm breaking a promise," Riku said, turning around and waving his hand, a dark portal opening up.

Sora's heart broke. He was sad. He was angry. He was confused. He dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. Why would his best friend turn on him again? "But why?"

"To bring peace to the world," Riku said, hesitating on stepping through the portal. He didn't want to leave Sora yet. If the brunette wanted answers, he was going to get them.

"You can bring peace to the world by staying here!" Sora said, the angry part of him now showing, "You can help me!"

"No," Riku said, "I have to do this. For you. For Kairi. Darkness overrules all. All worlds begin in darkness and all so end in darkness… The heart is no different..."

"You sound like him!" Sora spat out, obviously talking about Ansem.

"Sora…" Riku said, "I'm sorry."

"No!" Sora said, standing up and charging at Riku, "I won't let you leave again!" The Kingdom Key appeared in his hand and he swung downward at Riku.

Riku stepped to the side, avoiding the strike of the Keyblade. He turned, Way to the Dawn appearing in his hand. The Keyblade hit Sora in the side. The momentum of the swing, as well as the strength of Riku, caused Sora to fall to the ground, holding his side.

"I'm sorry, Sora," Riku backed up, stepping into the black portal, "Don't try and stop me."

"No!" Sora got up and ran towards the portal, hoping to make it in time. He dived towards the portal, though it closed just before Sora got to it. The brunette hit the ground roughly.

"Riku!" The brunette allowed more tears to spill over his eye lids. He threw his Keyblade with a grunt and then hit the sand angrily. "Riku!" He continued to hit the ground with a closed fist, tears spilling onto the sand beneath him. Once he was done hitting the ground, he ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the brunette locks as if he was going crazy.

"Damn it, Riku…" Sora sniffled, tears still staining the sand beneath him. His back heaved with every cry he gave. His best friend had just left him again. And Sora didn't even know where Riku was going. And worse, Riku was doing this all on his own free will. At least, that's what Sora thought.

All Sora knew was that he had to stop Riku, no matter what. He needed to save his best friend…

_**So, there ya have it. Let me know if I should continue with it or not. :P**_


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